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Detail

Never give up, even when times are tough

May 27, 2016

Norbert Greulich has been working for Gerresheimer for fifty years

Düsseldorf/Lohr, May 27, 2016. In 1966, at the tender age of 14, Norbert Greulich began his industrial electrician apprenticeship at Gerresheimer in Lohr. At the time, he probably never imagined he’d be staying on there as an employee for his entire working life. Today, Norbert looks back on 50 happy years of an interesting and eventful career.

Norbert Greulich has been an industrial electrician working shifts for 44 years. He celebrated his 64th birthday this March. Norbert’s working life began at Gerresheimer 50 years ago at the age of 14 in the year 1966, and he’s been there ever since.

You could say he has glass manufacturing in his blood because both his father and his grandfather worked at the Lohr glassworks. His father was a semi-automated machine operator and his grandfather was a furnace builder.

Norbert Greulich has experienced five decades of technical advancements in glass production. “I remember how we used to manufacture the products 50 years ago, and how hard the work was back then compared to now, and I’m still fascinated by technological progress.”

When you ask him what the most important aspect of a good relationship with colleagues is, he says teamwork, adding that even if you have the occasional disagreement, you have to know you can depend on your team mates. Norbert’s a stickler for punctuality and reliability, and he really hates getting let down on those two counts. “If somebody makes me wait unnecessarily or doesn’t keep a promise, it makes me wonder how little they value me if they can’t be bothered to make the effort,” he commented.

Like many of his other colleagues at Gerresheimer, Norbert is a big soccer fan. He was the trainer of the junior team at TSV Lohr for many years. His commitment and enthusiasm have always made him popular with the young players, and he’s still in contact with many of them today.

Norbert keeps himself fit by running, cycling and swimming, and he hopes that he’ll be able to stay in good health for many years to come.

The father of three sons is glad that his family never minded him working shifts. “If my wife and kids hadn’t been so understanding I’d never have been able to do the job,“ he said, proud that all his three sons have studied IT. He’s a bit sad that none of them live locally so he can see more of them, but the distance hasn’t stopped him from helping them to build their houses. Norbert’s always been a DIY enthusiast in his spare time. In fact, he’s done a very professional job with the renovation of his own home. And he also enjoys spending time with his two grandchildren.

Norbert and his wife discovered their love of travelling relatively late in life, when they, their son René, and René's girlfriend went on a trip to Australia. After three days in Sydney they travelled on to Perth. From there they took a camper van along the west coast, from Perth via the outback to the Karijini National Park and Tom Price. Then they spent two days in Brisbane before flying back to Germany. Since then, Norbert has travelled with friends to Indonesia, Morocco, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam. Next year he’s planning a trip to Africa.

“My motto’s always been ‘Never give up, even when times are tough’. Obviously, there have been times when life’s got me down, but I never gave up and that’s probably why I’m so happy and contented today,” said Norbert, who’s looking forward to a long and happy retirement after Gerresheimer.

About Gerresheimer

Gerresheimer is a leading global partner to the pharma and healthcare industries. The company’s special glass and plastic products contribute to health and well-being. Gerresheimer is a global organization with 11,000 employees and manufacturing operations in the local markets, close to customers. It has over 40 production facilities in Europe, North and South America and Asia generating revenue in excess of EUR 1.4 billion. The comprehensive product portfolio includes pharmaceutical packaging products as well as convenient and safe drug delivery systems such as insulin pens, inhalers, pre-fillable syringes, vials, ampoules, bottles and containers for liquid and solid pharmaceuticals with closure and safety systems, plus cosmetic packaging products.